Happy Halloween!

Yup that’s me being all creepy hanging out by the supply closet. Meow.

I wanted to make something for our annual Halloween Party at work. We still work, we just also bring food and have costumes. I didn’t join in much before, but the last couple of years, my rowbies have stepped it up, and it’s been fun!

Last year, we were members of the Peanuts cartoon and comic strip. This year, we decorated our row of desks as a garden with lots of flowers, and we were all members of a garden–a bee, a butterfly, mother nature, a dandelion (!), and me, the garden cat!

I wanted to make some pumpkin cookies, but didn’t want them to be cake-like, so I did an internet search and found that the blog, Sally’s Baking Addiction, had these pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that she stressed were soft and chewy and not at all like little pieces of cake! Plus they are egg-free!

The only change I made wasn’t because I wanted change, but rather because I had some chocolate covered cacao nibs that I wanted to use up, and no chocolate chips anywhere. And once again, laziness took hold! I didn’t want to make a trip to the store, so I decided pumpkin cacao nib cookies it will have to be! Et Voilà!

I hope you enjoy, and…HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

pumpkin cacao nib cookies

(taken directly from Sally’s Baking Addiction, substituting cacao nibs for the chocolate chips.)

ingredients

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup cacao nibs, plus extra for topping cookies after baking

method

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and the sugars, using a hand held beater, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and pumpkin and beat again until incorporated. Set aside.

Using a sieve or sifter, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice into a large bowl, then stir with a whisk to ensure dry ingredients are mixed thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Fold in the thee cacao nibs. Chill in the fridge for anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., and line baking sheets with parchment paper or use silpats.

Original recipe calls for rolling dough into individual balls about 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons, but I used a 1 Tablespoon ice cream scoop that I moisturized with baking spray oil before scooping to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to the scoop.

Space the cookies, leaving at least a couple of inches between each cookie. Press each one down slightly with two clean fingers before baking. Bake for about 10 minutes. Cookies will still be soft right out of oven, so let sit on cookie sheet for five minutes. Is desired, press a few cacao nibs over each cookie. I said “if desired”, but I highly recommend it! Remove from baking sheets. Let cool completely before eating.